- Hollywood directors reach tentative four-year deal with studios and streamers
Source: Seattle Times
“Hollywood directors on Tuesday reached a four-year tentative contract agreement with studios and streaming services. The deal struck between the Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers came four weeks after talks began. The talks were the first under new DGA President Christopher Nolan, who took the job in September. Along with similar four-year deals — longer than the industry three — ratified in recent weeks by unions representing writers and actors, the DGA agreement adds to the likelihood of long-term labor peace despite many other industry upheavals. The collective bargaining agreement must still be approved by the guild’s national board, and no details on the terms will be released until then, the DGA said in a statement. It then must be ratified by the guild membership.” (06/10/26)
- Study: US firms pay price for Trump’s China tariffs, export controls
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“The Trump administration’s export controls, sanctions and tariffs are hurting American firms in China without achieving their policy goals of blocking critical technology or reviving US manufacturing, according to a new business survey. … The report said that nearly half of the 175 respondents to the survey were affected by US export controls and sanctions, with around 61 per cent of those firms losing sales to Chinese competitors – a rise of five percentage points from 2025. Over 72 per cent of the surveyed companies were also hit by the tit-for-tat tariffs unleashed by both countries, with close to 40 per cent of the affected businesses losing sales as a result of the US duties. The report said that these losses had not forced American companies to onshore manufacturing – only 14 per cent of respondents expanded production at home while 36 per cent increased production in third countries.” (06/10/26)
- Myanmar: Woman detained by police after American diplomat found dead
Source: CBS News
“An American diplomat was found dead in Myanmar’s largest city, the U.S. State Department said, and members of the diplomatic community in Yangon say a Thai woman has been detained by police in connection with the investigation. American officials in Thailand and the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar referred questions on the case to the State Department, which confirmed the ‘death of a U.S. government employee’ assigned to the embassy in Yangon but gave no other details. … According to three people in the diplomatic community in Myanmar, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, the man was found dead about two weeks ago at the Sakura Residence & Hotel.” (06/10/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-diplomat-dead-myanmar-woman-detained/
- Microsoft will disable Office 2019 for Mac next month
Source: The Verge
“Microsoft’s Office 2019 apps for Mac will stop working next month, because the company isn’t renewing a certificate that validates Office licenses. Owners of Office 2019 for Mac are being warned they’ll have to purchase Office 2024 or a Microsoft 365 subscription if they want to continue editing documents. Microsoft previously promised that ‘all your Office 2019 apps will continue to function,’ when it announced end of support in 2023. The company then quietly updated that support note last month to remove the mention of apps continuing to function, replacing it with ‘Rest assured that all your Office 2019 apps won’t lose any data.’ Starting on July 13th, Office 2019 for Mac and Office 2021 for Mac will both run in ‘reduced functionality mode,’ allowing people to open files but not edit, save, or create new documents.” [editor’s note: If you purchased Office 2019, you made a mistake in buying from an untrustworthy company. Instead of taking the bait again, switch to e.g. LibreOffice, which is free – TLK] (06/10/26)
https://www.theverge.com/news/947518/microsoft-office-2019-for-mac-end-of-support-no-edit
- Myanmar: Rebels losing ground as military forces men into army
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“The four young men in the rebel camp hidden deep in jungle-covered mountains never wanted a part in Myanmar’s civil war. They didn’t choose to be soldiers for the military either. One had been a chef on his way home from work when he was grabbed off the street. His lack of ID was enough for the military to detain him and force him to sign up. Another was taken on his way back from a late-night karaoke session; a third had been working for the forestry department when he was arrested. The fourth man says on being arrested, drugs were slipped into his shoe, and he was framed and made to enlist. ‘Before we even understood what was happening, we were sent straight to the front lines,’ one of the men – all between the ages of 19 and 25 – tells the BBC. ‘They made us do all kinds of things we didn’t want to do,’ another adds.” (06/10/26)
- Mali: Two journalists arrested in latest crackdown on freedom of expression
Source: ABC News
“Malian authorities arrested two prominent journalists in the past two days, the latest crackdown on freedom of expression by the West African country’s military leadership during a security crisis. … In Mali, public statements suggesting that the military is losing ground to jihadist groups often leads to charges. … In January 2025, Malian authorities banned the sale of the Pan-African magazine Jeune Afrique. Several French media outlets, including France24, TV5 Monde, and Radio France International, are also banned from broadcasting in Mali. Several opposition leaders have been imprisoned for criticizing the military regime.” (06/10/26)
- Belgium rejects US World Cup demand for Congo travel ban amid Ebola outbreak
Source: Politico
“Belgium on Wednesday rejected Washington’s demand to impose an entry ban on travelers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, setting up a transatlantic clash over measures to prevent Ebola from spreading during the World Cup. Speaking on Radio 1, Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said Belgium would continue following scientific advice rather than bowing to political pressure from Washington. … The remarks come after reports surfaced that U.S. Ambassador Bill White urged Belgium to adopt strict American-style travel restrictions on Congolese travelers ahead of the World Cup, which kicks off Thursday in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Daily flights connect Brussels to Kinshasa. According to U.S. media,Washington has warned European countries that if they do not adopt America’s tougher travel restrictions, they could be subject to U.S. entry bans.” (06/10/26)
- In new lawsuit, Sean “Diddy” Combs accused of sexually assaulting child actor
Source: New York Post
“Imprisoned rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been accused of sexually assaulting a child actor in an explosive lawsuit filed in California that accuses him of acting ‘beyond the bound of decency.’ Combs, 56, is serving a 50-month prison sentence for prostitution-related offenses after a bombshell eight-week trial in New York City that laid bare his infamous ‘freak-offs’: twisted, multi-day parties rife with drugs, degrading sex acts and children’s swimming pools full of baby oil. In the new lawsuit, a child actor going by the pseudonym John Doe accuses the disgraced Bad Boy Entertainment founder of sexually assaulting him during a networking event in the Hollywood Hills in May 2007, according to ABC News. ‘Defendant Combs’[s] conduct … was outrageous, intended to terrorize and cause him emotional distress, and did in fact cause him emotional distress,’ the lawsuit viewed by the outlet reads in part.” (06/10/26)
- Pakistan renews air strikes on Afghanistan, killing dozens
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Pakistan has renewed deadly air strikes on neighbouring Afghanistan, officials in both countries said Wednesday, in the worst violence in weeks following a period of relative calm. Pakistan’s government said on Wednesday that 26 ‘militants’ linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group were killed in the attacks. … Islamabad accuses the Taliban government of sheltering militants behind a surge in attacks, particularly the TTP, which has waged a violent campaign against Pakistan for years.” (06/10/26)
- Japan: Growing backlash over Trump’s use of anime characters
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A backlash is growing in Japan over US President Donald Trump’s use of popular anime and manga characters in his posts on social media. Upset has been brewing since March, when fans started noticing the president using images of – and in some cases depicting himself as – iconic Japanese animation characters like Pikachu, Naruto and Yu-Gi-Oh!. Almost 20,000 people have now signed an online petition, arguing he does not share the values of the characters, and that using them for political reasons could infringe the creators’ rights. Pokémon Company International has condemned Trump’s use of its imagery. The BBC has contacted other rights holders and the White House for comment. The petition calling for Trump and the White House to respect Japanese manga was first launched in March, when a couple of posts caught the attention of some fans.” (06/10/26)
- US FDA expands sunscreen options, adds bemotrizinol
Source: United Press International
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday added bemotrizinol to the list of permitted active ingredients in over-the-counter sunscreens, the first addition to that list since the 1990s. … The FDA said the ingredient has low levels of absorption through the skin and into the body and is generally recognized as safe and effective for adults and children 6 months old and older. The American Chemical Society said that BEMT blocks ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B light rays and was first used in sunscreens in the European Union in 2000, with Canada, Australia and some countries in Asia following suit soon after.” (06/09/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/06/09/fda-adds-bemotrizinol-to-sunscreen-list/5271781042817/
- Belfast burns after Sudanese migrant arrested in brutal knife attack
Source: Fox News
“A Sudanese asylum seeker accused of blinding a Belfast man in one eye during a stabbing attack appeared in court Wednesday as anti-immigrant unrest spread across Northern Ireland. Hadi Alodid, 30, was ordered to be held in jail after appearing by video in Belfast Magistrates’ Court, where prosecutors accused him of blinding Stephen Ogilvie in his left eye during Monday’s attack. Alodid was charged with attempted murder, threatening to kill a radiographer and possessing a knife. He declined legal representation through an Arabic interpreter and did not enter a plea. The attack, which occurred shortly after 10:30 p.m. Monday in north Belfast and was captured in graphic video footage that quickly spread online, sparked outrage and fueled demonstrations that turned violent overnight. Police said Ogilvie, a man in his 40s, suffered serious injuries to his face, neck, back and eyes, and officers recovered what they believe was a kitchen knife from the scene.” (06/10/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/world/belfast-burns-sudanese-migrant-arrested-brutal-knife-attack
- Judge bars Alabama nitrogen gas execution, says method is unconstitutionally cruel
Source: Seattle Times
“A federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked Alabama from executing an inmate with nitrogen gas after declaring it violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. District Judge Emily Marks issued the ruling hours after an appeals court reversed her initial finding that the method was constitutional. Marks permanently enjoined the state from executing Jeffrey Lee, 49, by nitrogen gas. He was scheduled to be executed Thursday. The decision, for now, blocks the use of the controversial new execution method that the state has championed since 2024, but the issue will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.” (06/09/26)
- South Africa: Manhunt under way after 12 killed in mass shooting in Johannesburg
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Police in South Africa have launched a manhunt after 12 people were killed in a mass shooting at an informal settlement in Johannesburg. At least 10 suspects, heavily armed with rifles, entered the Jumpers Informal Settlement in the suburb of Cleveland late on Tuesday night and opened fire before fleeing in a white vehicle, police said. The motive for what police called a ‘heartless’ and ‘barbaric’ attack, in which another nine people were injured, is still being investigated. Members of the Jumper’s community believe the shooting may be linked to a turf war between groups of illegal miners living in the area. Illegal mining has been on the increase in South Africa, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world.” (06/10/26)
- CA: Becerra, Hilton to face off in gubernatorial race
Source: US News & World Report
“The race for California governor this fall will be a battle between a Democrat promising to cement the state’s status as a stronghold of liberal policies and a Republican pledging to dramatically reverse course in the nation’s most populous state. Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator backed by President Donald Trump, has won enough votes to advance to the general election, The Associated Press determined Tuesday. He’ll face Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney general and health secretary under President Joe Biden.” (06/09/26)
- Blind Submission To Authority Caused By Bad Parenting
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Blind submission to authority is the result of propaganda and indoctrination, but it’s also the result of bad parenting. Raising kids who aren’t allowed to say no to you is raising adults who don’t think anyone should be allowed to oppose their rulers. That’s mainly what you’re seeing in the comments section of any viral police brutality video with people defending the cop’s actions and saying the victim should have complied with commands more perfectly. All they’re really saying is ‘Don’t disobey Daddy and you won’t get smacked!’ … Discuss the latest act of war or abuse with someone who’s been trained to reflexively obey authority and you can watch them running calculations trying to find excuses to justify why the powerful are correct in this given instance, even if you’re presenting them with brand new information.” (06/09/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/06/09/blind-submission-to-authority-is-caused-by-bad-parenting/
- How the Libertarian Party De-MAGAfied Itself
Source: The Bulwark
by Bernard Tamas“The Libertarian Party expelled its New Hampshire chapter from the national party. For years, the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH) has prided itself on being the radical vanguard of the liberty movement and made itself a public relations nightmare for the wider libertarian movement. Its chair, Jeremy Kauffman, became notorious for tweets he posted from the New Hampshire chapter’s account, including implying that historically black colleges and universities were ‘chimp factories’ and declaring that ‘Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero.’ Faithless to the wider party, the LPNH endorsed and campaigned for Donald Trump over the Libertarian Party’s own presidential nominee, Chase Oliver, in 2024. When the vote by the Libertarian National Committee to eject the LPNH finally came during the party’s national conference, it was swift and decisive.” (06/10/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/how-the-libertarian-party-de-magafied
- The fear of liberty is irrational
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal“I’ve never considered myself a particularly brave person, but I’ve never been afraid enough to feel like I needed to be governed or to have you governed on my behalf. I’ve never been so afraid that I was willing to give up essential liberty for a false feeling of safety. I can’t comprehend this level of irrational fear.” (06/10/26)
- Second Thoughts on Marijuana Legalization
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“[A]fter saying 12 years ago that marijuana policy should decided by the states, the Times now wants the federal government to be involved: ‘The federal government needs to be part of these solutions. Leaving taxes and regulations to the states threatens to create a race to the bottom in which people can cross state lines to buy their pot. Congress can set a floor, as it has done, however inadequately, with alcohol and tobacco, and states can build on it as they choose.’ The goal should be ‘to balance personal freedom and public health.’ Libertarians have likewise had some second thoughts about marijuana legalization, but not for the same reasons as the New York Times, Republican and conservative drug warriors, or state marijuana prohibitionists. The issue with libertarians is that marijuana legalization is not marijuana freedom.” (06/10/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/second-thoughts-on-marijuana-legalization/
- Social Security’s Finances Are Getting Worse, and Americans Don’t Know How Hard the Choices Will Be
Source: Cato Institute
by Emily Ekins & Jonah Messinger“The newly released Social Security Trustees’ annual report shows that the Social Security Trust Fund’s finances have deteriorated further. The trust fund is now projected to be depleted sooner than previously expected, meaning Congress will face an even larger financing gap. Closing that gap will require larger tax increases, deeper benefit cuts, or some combination of both. Recent polling on Social Security from the Cato Institute in collaboration with YouGov offers some clues about how Americans are likely to respond to this news. Americans are aware that Social Security is underfunded, but many do not understand the severity of the problem.” (06/10/26)
- Europe shakes off innovation gloom
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“The handful of U.S. firms that dominate global tech and artificial intelligence has almost universal name recognition. And it’s quite widely known that they rely on semiconductors manufactured in East Asia, mainly Taiwan. But it’s safe to say that very, very few people realize that the world’s only maker of the complex lithography machines – used by Asian firms to fabricate the chips that power American tech advances – is headquartered in … Europe. (The Netherlands, to be precise.) Not knowing this little factoid is about more than industry trivia. It points to long-standing, and not entirely merited, views of the continent as an economic has-been, held back by red tape, capital constraints, and innovation inertia. In fact, the European Union is making quiet, consistent progress in undoing both limiting perceptions and policies – even as global markets are more focused on multitrillion-dollar Wall Street listings …” (06/09/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0609/Europe-shakes-off-innovation-gloom
- City of Angels
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Sofia Karstens“By now, everyone knows the basics of the California fires that burned down the Palisades and Altadena. And most people are aware of the shady ‘Make it make sense’ particulars around our elected officials and the quasi- and government agencies like the LA DWP. Some people understand the corruption, fraud, and coordination of criminal activity that has led us here. Far fewer understand how deeply that dysfunction persists, and the degree to which it has been amplified.” (06/10/26)
- Japan Looks East
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott“In mid-June, on the margins of the G7 France summit, Japanese premier Sanae Takaichi will tell Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, that Japan wishes to begin negotiating an economic partnership agreement with the Southern Common Market — or, Mercosur, the South American customs union comprised of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The overture to the South American trade bloc, confirmed in the last week of May by Japanese officials familiar with the plan, would be the first large-scale trade negotiation launched under Takaichi’s administration. The potential for Japan is enormous — not just for international trade, but also for buttressing its free-market economic mission at home.” (06/10/26)
- Trump is losing it and must be removed
Source: The Hill
by Kiim Wehle“On April 30, 2026, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) entered a statement into the Congressional Record by 36 physicians — including neurologists, psychiatrists, and specialists in cognitive disorders from Harvard, Tufts, Columbia, and George Washington University. These doctors warned of President Trump’s ‘rapidly worsening, reality-untethered, increasingly dangerous decline.’ They called him ‘mentally unfit’ and said he must be removed ‘with the greatest urgency,’ citing his ‘grandiose and delusional beliefs,’ ‘reckless threats of violence,’ ‘seemingly compulsive, manic-like late-night communications,’ and ‘fixation on perceived enemies.’ Citing his access to nuclear codes, they called for use of the 25th Amendment. But the chances now seem more remote than ever. Unlike during Trump’s first term, when the possibility of invoking the Constitution’s 25th Amendment was at least openly debated, no one in Trump’s close orbit will now speak truth to power.” (06/10/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5914003-trump-decline-25th-amendment/
- Early 21st Century Universities
Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen“I’ve been thinking a lot about the definition and telos of the university so thought I’d think a bit about what universities are like now. Perhaps this will help those who are not in universities to understand what they are. Perhaps others will offer me different views regarding how they are now (and how they should be). I will call universities as they are ETCUs — Early 21st Century Universities. In part, that’s unfair. Universities didn’t suddenly become something new in 2000 or 2001. I’d say universities were already on a downward path in the 1980s; I suspect it goes back further.” (06/10/26)
https://prosociallibertarians.substack.com/p/early-21st-century-universities
- Trump advisers letting Tehran play him for a sucker
Source: New York Post
by staff“‘The United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,’ President Trump announced Tuesday of Iran’s shootdown of a US Apache attack chopper over the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command soon launched ‘proportional strikes,’ which don’t sound like enough: The prez needs to show he’s serious, or Tehran will keep trying to play him for a sucker as it has every president going back to Jimmy Carter. Consider: Trump told the press just hours before that attack, ‘We’re very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal.’ A country that’s ‘very close’ to sealing a deal in good faith doesn’t escalate against its negotiating partner. This leaves us wondering which presidential advisers are leading him down this garden path to likely humiliation.” [editor’s note: The only way for Trump to show he’s “serious” is to accept the fact that he lost a war – TLK] (06/09/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/09/opinion/trumps-advisers-are-letting-tehran-play-him-for-a-sucker/
- The Long, Long Two Weeks
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“Nothing is so permanent, wrote Milton Friedman, as a temporary government program. Six years ago, Americans learned that not only vaguely temporary measures go on and on, even precisely marked-out periods with clear starts and stops stated at the outset can be dragged on well past their expiration date.” (06/10/26)
- Philanthropy Must Evolve: How we redefined business as usual to move $500 million
Source: Common Dreams
by Carmen Rojas & Daniel Gould“For too long, philanthropy has hidden behind the twin gatekeepers of fiduciary duty and perpetuity to avoid giving more when communities need it most. Last year, the Marguerite Casey Foundation provided a one-time fivefold increase in funding to meet a deepening moment of crisis. We learned this was a lifeline to many organizations facing increasing attacks and whose funders were pulling back from supporting racial and economic justice organizing. The damage we’re seeing (from cuts to essential government services and ICE raids to a corrupt federal government orchestrating the largest transfer of wealth from the poorest people to the richest in our nation) will have impacts for a generation. Philanthropy must provide resources at a scale and with a fervor that meaningfully responds to the reality of the world around us.” (06/10/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/philanthropy-must-evolve
- Why Did the President’s Son-In-Law Acquire A Nuclear Fortress in Albania?
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Thomas Karat“On a podcast this spring, Ivanka Trump described how she and her husband Jared Kushner came upon Sazan Island. A friend’s boat, a stop to swim, a captivation that would not release them. ‘We swam to the island. We went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated.’ … Sazan’s coastline is so forbidding that sailors gave it a name: Gryka e Xhehenemit, the Gorge of Hell. The slopes are studded with some 3,600 concrete bunkers, most of them one-man domes built to survive a nuclear blast, threaded together by ten miles of reinforced tunnels and a buried command center. In the water around the island lie World War II artillery shells, anti-submarine mines, and tons of undetonated ordnance, enough that the area is mapped as a hazard. Nobody walks barefoot up that.” (06/10/26)
- Mitch McConnell’s Hemp Ban Betrays the Industry He Helped Create
Source: Reason
by Tosin Akintola“Federal prohibition of hemp-derived THC products would destroy a $37.5 billion industry to solve a problem states are already handling.” (06/10/26)
https://reason.com/2026/06/10/mitch-mcconnells-hemp-ban-betrays-the-industry-he-helped-create/
- Is the Iran War Tipping the Gulf Away From the US?
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Snider“The countries that have borne the brunt of Iranian retaliation have an incentive to diversify their security structures.” (06/10/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/is-the-iran-war-tipping-the-gulf-away-from-the-u-s/
- Dem Congressman prediction: Platner to get “off the ballot soon”
Source: Fox News Forum
by Lindsay Kornick“Rep. Josh Gottheimer [D-NJ] predicted on Tuesday that Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner will be ‘off the ballot soon’ even if he wins the primary election. Gottheimer, who has criticized Platner for his scandals in the past, called support for far-left candidates like him a ‘major concern’ for the Democratic Party and encouraged people not to support him during the primaries. While he stopped short of supporting Platner’s presumptive Republican opponent, Sen. Susan Collins, Gottheimer told ‘CNN News Central’ that he would call for Platner to step down regardless of how the race goes. ‘What I would suggest is that Graham Platner get off if he wins today, which I assume he will, because there‘s no one actively campaigning against him, that he get off the ballot and let another Democrat step in, that the Maine Democratic Party puts somebody else in,’ Gottheimer said.” (06/09/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/media/graham-platner-get-off-ballot-soon-democratic-lawmaker-predicts
- Wrongful Arrest Exposes Failures in One of the Oldest Police Face-Recognition Tools in the US
Source: Wired
by Dell Cameron“A Florida man was wrongfully arrested for attempting to illegally lure a child after police relied on a face recognition match that was inaccurate, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, even though he lived more than 300 miles from the scene and says he had never set foot in the city where the crime took place. Robert Dillon, a 52-year-old commercial crabber from Fort Myers, was arrested after FACES — a face recognition system operated by Florida’s Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office — matched his face against a photo of a man on a computer screen taken with a cellphone. … ACLU says Dillon’s case is one of at least 15 known wrongful arrests in the United States attributed to face recognition technology.” (06/10/26)
- Big surprise: Bolton gets Petraeus treatment after copping to charges
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jack Hunter“Friends of the national security state get slapped on the wrist while those who actually challenge the system pay the real price.” (06/10/26)
- Bank of England bond sales don’t cost taxpayers anything
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall“It’s the original purchases that are costing the taxpayer money …. the loss was baked in when the Bank of England bought all those bonds back when. Buying gilts with 1/2% and the like coupons just was/is going to lead to a loss. A loss that can be taken in one of two ways but a loss which is going to be taken in one of those two ways. … The loss comes from having done Quantitative Easing, not from the clean up that is Quantitative Tightening. Sorry, there is no free money.” (06/10/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/bank-of-england-bond-sales-dont-cost-taxpayers-anything
- ICE Occupation of Minneapolis Still Wreaking Economic Carnage
Source: The American Prospect
by Bryce Covert“It was February in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Maria Gonzalez was leaving her hotel cleaning job. Thirty minutes later, a co-worker uploaded a video in their group chat that showed ICE agents storming the hotel and searching for Latino people as part of Operation Metro Surge. They eventually grabbed three of her colleagues and took them away; she believes that, had she still been at work, she likely would have been detained. … The hotel business tends to be weak in winter months, she said, but it nosedived starting in December as the surge began, which meant she was called in to work less. Then a week after the hotel incident, ICE showed up at her own door while she was at home with her husband and two teenage children, pounding and kicking it, demanding to be let in.” (06/10/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/06/10/ice-occupation-minneapolis-still-wreaking-economic-carnage/
- In this state, nurse practitioners pay for the right to do their job
Source: Washington Post
by Donna G Matias“For more than 30 years, nurse practitioner Marcy Markes has cared for patients in intensive care units and small-town clinics across Missouri. She holds degrees from the University of Missouri and runs an allergy and asthma clinic in Columbia, Missouri. The state has a serious health care access problem, and its residents would be better off if experienced providers like Markes were free to provide the care they are licensed to give. Instead, a state law requires nurse practitioners to contract with a physician, which by some estimates can cost an average of $7,000 per year. The price tag for Markes to practice? $50,000 a year. … Courts have increasingly been willing to reassess occupational licensing laws that appear to serve entrenched economic interests more than consumer protection. Missouri’s CPA regime presents a fairly clear case …” (06/10/26)
- Section 224: How Far Should America’s Security Commitments to Israel Go?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Timothy Hopper“Buried deep within the thousands of pages of the annual U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a single provision labeled Section 224 has quietly become one of the hottest political flashpoints in Washington this year. On the surface, it looks like standard bureaucratic language — just another push to strengthen technological and military cooperation between the United States and Israel. But the intensity of the reactions it’s sparked, from both supporters and fierce critics, reveals something much bigger at play. For many watchers, Section 224 isn’t merely a technical tweak; it’s become a symbol of larger, often uncomfortable questions about Israel’s role in U.S. foreign policy, how far America’s security commitments should go, and where the Republican Party is headed in this new era.” (06/10/26)
- The law faculty who self-censor the least are not the ones you think
Source: Expression
by Nate Honeycutt“When discussions turn to free expression in higher education, a common assumption is that those with the lowest amount of job security feel the least free to speak. Junior faculty, adjunct instructors, and others without tenure are often presumed to be the most cautious, while senior professors are presumed to enjoy and exercise greater freedom to study, teach, or debate whatever they want without fear of reprisal. And survey data does support this. For example, among faculty in the academy at large non-tenured faculty are more likely to self-censor than tenured/tenure-track faculty. But results from FIRE’s 2026 survey of nearly 2,000 law faculty suggest the reality may be more complicated.” (06/09/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/the-law-faculty-who-self-censor-the
- When Leadership Loses Its Moral Compass
Source: Town Hall
by Joe Abraham“The Apostle Paul once wrote that leadership requires ‘a good conscience.’ Whether one approaches that idea through faith, philosophy, or simple common sense, the principle remains timeless: public officials carry a moral obligation to protect the people entrusted to their care. That responsibility should come before ideology, political image, or partisan loyalty. Too often in Illinois, it does not. My daughter, Katie Abraham, was killed in Urbana, Illinois, by an intoxicated illegal [sic] immigrant with a troubling background and serious health issues; circumstances that, in my view, were enabled by reckless sanctuary policies that lacked meaningful vetting and prioritized ideology over public safety. But what permanently divided me from many Illinois leaders was not only the policy failure itself. It was the response afterward.” (06/10/26)
- What JFK Knew about Diplomacy that Modern Leaders Have Forgotten
Source: Independent Institute
by Abigail R Hall“Kennedy facilitated important changes in U.S.-Soviet relations. Less than two months later, the two nations and Great Britain signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited weapons testing in the atmosphere and in the water. The signatories agreed to work toward ending the arms race and, ultimately, complete disarmament. The treaty didn’t succeed — but that doesn’t mean it didn’t matter. Kennedy’s efforts showed how bitter rivals could nevertheless work toward a common goal. Though he wouldn’t live to see them, future diplomatic efforts enabled even the most ideologically opposed regimes to build institutions that constrained humanity’s worst impulses.” (06/09/26)
- Build homes, don’t seize them, Mayor Mamdani
Source: Washington Post
by Ilya Somin“‘Block by Block,’ Zohran Mamdani’s ‘sweeping blueprint’ to reduce housing prices in New York City, comes with a dangerous promise. ‘When necessary,’ the mayor said on May 26, ‘we will take aggressive legal action to remove negligent owners and property managers’ and transfer ownership to ‘responsible stewards.’ The problem: The proposal is an unconstitutional power grab that would exacerbate the city’s housing crisis. … The mayor’s proposal doesn’t just violate the federal and state constitutions, which have nearly identical restrictions on takings. It would also make the city’s shortages worse. Faced with the prospect of potential expropriation, many owners would likely withdraw properties from the market or not list them in the first place.” (06/09/26)
- Anarcho-Tyranny is Killing College Sports
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Tho Bishop“College athletics, particularly in the South, has long been one of the great institutions of this country. While the terminally anti-social may be quick to dismiss popular sports as ‘sportsball’ and the latter half of ‘bread and circuses,’ the reality is that popular sports have long served as an important connection in civil society, creating multi-generational stories of success and defeat, and providing valuable lessons about grit, hard work, and determination. Unfortunately, college sports have been under constant assault from political institutions, serving as a striking example of the devastation that can be wrought by anarcho-tyranny — the state-driven phenomenon of criminalizing the enforcement of basic civic norms while increasingly restricting the liberties of law-abiding citizens.” (06/09/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/anarcho-tyranny-killing-college-sports
- NYU Strike Showed How to Reverse the Downward Spiral in Higher Ed
Source: In These Times
by Peter Cole“While teaching and conducting research can be wonderful experiences, working conditions in higher education have become increasingly horrible. In the United States, massive state disinvestment coinciding with 50 years of neoliberalism has resulted in both soaring tuition costs for students and large-scale budget cuts to universities. As a result, faculty teaching loads have increased while wages have stagnated. Meanwhile, university administrators across the country have replaced full-time and permanent faculty with insecure, part-time positions, and rarely replaced faculty who retired or moved. Whereas in the 1970s, more than half of U.S. faculty were tenured or on the tenure-track, today that figure stands at just over one quarter. Students suffer because their professors have far less availability and are far more stressed. Faculty are forced to hustle, often taking on additional jobs, and are left with less time for teaching and research, thereby undermining the mission of universities.” (06/09/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/new-york-university-strike-non-tenured-union
- Judging Freedom, 06/10/26
Source: Judging Freedom
“Aaron Maté : While Trump Is Stalling for Time …” (06/10/26)
- Reasonably Optimistic, 06/10/26
Source: Washington Post
“Do aliens exist? I asked an astrophysicist.” (06/10/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/do-aliens-exist-i-asked-an-astrophysicist/
- The Political Orphanage, 06/10/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“The Emperor of Epcot: Walt Disney and Company Towns.” (06/10/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/the-emperor-of-epcot-walt-disney-and-company-towns
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 06/10/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Rank Punditry You Can’t Refuse | Interview: Chris Stirewalt.” (06/10/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/rank-punditry-you-cant-refuse-interview-chris-stirewalt/
- Reason Interview: Rebecca Goldstein
Source: Reason
“Why So Many People Feel Lost.” (06/10/2)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/06/10/why-so-many-people-feel-lost/
- Quillette Podcast, 06/10/26
Source: Quillette
“Why the Enlightenment Matters.” (06/10/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/06/10/why-the-enlightenment-matters-adam-wakeling/
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/10/26
Source: The New Republic
“Fox in Meltdown over Booing of Trump as Polls Take Truly Brutal Turn.” (06/10/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/211581/fox-meltdown-booing-trump-polls-take-truly-brutal-turn
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 06/09/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The Proposed LP Judicial Committee Rules, Let’s Talk About Them.” (06/09/26)
- Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 06/09/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, U.S.-Israel Military Fusion, Unhinged Propaganda, & More w/ Mouin Rabbani.” (06/09/26)
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 459
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Avens O’Brien on the 2026 Libertarian Party (USA) National Convention.” (06/09/26)
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 06/09/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Is Trump The Best Israeli President Ever?” (06/09/26)
- Capital Record, episode 303
Source: National Review
“Don’t Blame Bernie for AI State Cronyism.” (06/09/26)
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/capital-record/dont-blame-bernie-for-ai-state-cronyism/
- Brian Wilson Speaks, 06/09/26
Source: Brian Wilson Speaks
“Internationally known authority, Don Williams (Smithsonian Institute, ret.), returns to discuss the provocative question: who constitutes the ‘domestic enemies’ mentioned in the Oath all elected officials, military, and civil servants swear to uphold upon taking office.” (06/09/26)
https://brianwilsonwrites.substack.com/p/all-enemies-foreign-and-domestic